Critics say deployment is unwarranted and could cause fear in the city, which has seen a decrease in violent crime rates
The Trump administration is deploying 350 national guard troops to New Orleans ahead of the new year, launching another federal deployment in the city at the same time that an immigration crackdown led by border patrol is under way.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Tuesday that guard members, as they have in other deployments in large cities, will be tasked with supporting federal law enforcement partners, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Parnell added that the national guard troops will be deployed through February.
Louisiana’s governor, Jeff Landry, a Republican, praised Donald Trump and the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, for coordinating the deployment and predicted the guard’s presence would have a positive impact. “It’s going to help us further crack down on the violence here in the city of New Orleans and elsewhere around Louisiana,” Landry said in an appearance on the The Will Cain Show on Fox News. “And so a big shoutout to both of them.”
Critics have argued a national guard deployment is unwarranted and could cause fear in the community, and they point out that New Orleans has actually seen a decrease in violent crime rates.
